News

Gray Wolf Back Under ESA

The population of gray wolves living in the western Great Lakes, which had been removed from the federal Endangered Species List in early 2007 following reintroduction successes, is once again under the list’s protection.

After reviewing complaints from several groups, a US judge declared that the removal of the gray wolf “might have been based on a misinterpretation of the Endangered Species Act,” according to Laura Ragan, regional endangered species listing coordinator with the US Fish & Wildlife Service.

The relisting means that states where gray wolves are established — Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota — can, according to Ragan, “no longer implemen…lethal control of problem wolves in Wisconsin and Michigan. Wolves in [those states] that are attacking domestic animals can no longer be killed by anyone. In Minnesota, wolves attacking domestic animals can be killed only by designated government agents.”

The gray wolf was once a top predator of the Chicago region. One was found dead near the Chain O’ Lakes in 2005, and others are suspected to have passed through undetected, likely from territories to the north.

— Shelli Bruno